Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Waco
– Criminal cases are like milk, said the toughest prosecutor to
come along in Six Shooter Junction in decades.

They
don't get better with age, he told his “bosses,” the people who
elected him to run the peoples' law firm.

“Time
is the defendant's friend,” said the McLennan County Criminal
District Attorney before a meeting of the Waco Tea Party held at a
Heritage Square bistro within sight of City Hall and the Courthouse.

He
started his rebuttal of criticism from the defense bar that his ways
of disposing of criminal cases are so tough, he has needlessly filled
the county's jails to overflowing and caused tremendous cost
overruns.

People
laughed at that statement.

Surrounded
by key officials involved in the struggle to turn the situation
around – Sheriff Parnell McNamara, County Commissioner Ben Perry,
McLennan County Republican Chairman Ralph Patterson – he blurted
out, “We've got guys in the back of patrol cars, saying 'Man, if I
go down again, Reyna is going to give me life.'”

There
was extended applause, even a few cheers.

It's
true that sometimes it's as many as 3 months before his office
obtains an indictment, and defendants often won't accept a plea
bargain for many months while they languish in the county lockup.

“It's
a whole lot easier to do your time in the county jail instead of
TDC,” he pointed out. “If you get transferred down to Tennessee
Colony, let's say, your mama ain't gonna come down there to see you.”

And
then he proceeded to tell the people what he tells those who call him
on his cell number to complain.

And
when he was finished, he gave them his cell number, told them to keep
on asking the tough questions, answered a few questions – and
called it a night, saying “That's what y'all elected me to do, and
I'm doing it.”

Out
front, on the sidewalk, he said, “I finally got mad. I finally got
pissed off.”

On
his arrival, asked if he knew that a local attorney, Jonathan Sibley,
the son of veteran lobbyist and legislator David Sibley, is
considering making a bid for District Attorney in 2014, he snorted.

“What
are they gonna use on me?” His voice took on the tones of derision.
“Won't sign visas for illegal aliens...Got a Mexican DA in
there...I got news for you. I pulled apps from 2003 that hadn't been
signed. It wasn't a Mexican thing.”

Later,
he explained to the crowd of nearly one hundred that a grant of a
visa carries such social entitlements as food stamps, and that after
4 years, a person so graced is allowed to apply for citizenship, in
spite of their illegal entry into the country.

“I
think that is bad!” he shouted. The crowd reacted with more
extended applause. It's not only bad, it is incomprehensible to Abel
Reyna, District Attorney.

“I
am not a kiosk or a satellite office for the immigration department.”

A
prosecutor could lose his law license for offering to sign a visa
application for an illegal alien in exchange for incriminating
information. Should that come to light and the information prove to
be bogus, the implications are obvious.

He
will not make any such deals without knowing the names of the
informants, something the Waco Police learned in court last week when
he and his First Assistant Prosecutor elected to drop an organized
crime indictment against 7 alleged offenders.

A
detective refused to inform Michael Jarrett, the chief prosecutor,
and approached the judge in an ex parte appeal to reverse his
decision to allow the prosecution to know the name of the illegal
informants.

He
will meet with every Chief of Police and the Sheriff later this week
and request an interlocal agreement that the names of any and all
confidential informants be turned over to the prosecutors in all
cases, with no exceptions.

“I'm
not going to look at the front page of a paper and see my face and
read a story about how I might lose my license to practice law
because someone withheld some information.” He mentioned the case
of Michael Morton, a Georgetown man who spent 26 years behind bars
for the murder of his wife when exculpatory evidence to the contrary
was on file in the District Attorney's office at the time.

There
are three distinct categories of plea offers available in the offices
of Abel Reyna, District Attorney.

First
of all, “You shove a gun in someone's face, we're going to dance.
You just bought yourself a ticket to the dance.”

When
a habitual offender is charged with his third offense, every
prosecutor in his office is instructed to offer no less than 40
years, unless he or his top two assistants sign off on the bargain.

All
first degree felonies punishable by 15 years to life will receive an
offer of no less than 15 years, unless he or his top two assistants
sign off on the deal.

In
a case of burglary of a habitation, there are no deals. He and his
staff will see you in court.

“I
think that is the most intrusive case that can happen,” he said.

A
software company is designing a system that will allow defense
attorneys to sit at their desks and review entire case files
electronically. Until then, all such files will be photocopied and
given to the attorneys of record.

When
it comes to defending the home under the doctrine of the Castle Law,
which allows the use of deadly force to defend life and property,
“Don't wait until you figure out who it is, just go ahead and
defend yourself...If you are a licensed carrier, go ahead and pack
your heat.

“I've
seen some terrible crime scene photos, what happened to entire
families...These days,” he shook his head. “...Just go ahead and
defend yourself and worry about me and the law later.”

3 comments:

I love Abel Reyna and have liked him ever since I worked in the DAs officer here and he was a Defence Attorney. He's local, he's humble and he knows he law. Others may run against him, but my vote stays with him. He's cleared so much deadwood out of that office it's not funny.